Growing Up
by InzanityFirez
Summary: Hisoka is tired of being treated like a child and makes an ill-spoken wish to be older.  His wish is granted at the cost of Tsuzuki's years and now the Shinigami have to undo what was done, or risk losing Tsuzuki as they knew him...forever.
1. Thorns of Roses Longing

**My second Yami No Matsuei fic! The last one was dorky TsuRaki slashness…XD ish. I've just loved the idea of poor Tsuzuki ending up young and awkward Hisoka older and such…I dunno. Sounds like a plan. XD Enjoy!~ **

"Hisoka, move!" Tsuzuki shoved his partner out of the way just as the creature they were currently fighting slashed at him. The violet-eyed Shinigami gritted his teeth against the pain as his blood pooled against his shirt.

"Tsuzuki!" Hisoka scrambled to his feet and quickly cast a spell, but it seemed not to affect the creature at all.

They had been seeing more such creatures lately, and they might have suspected Muraki behind it if he hadn't been gone for nearly four months. He was still alive, that much they knew because Hisoka's curse marks remained…but Muraki had to be in critical condition even if he had managed to somehow survive Touda's black flames.

Tsuzuki didn't need to resort to calling on a Shikigami for this, he tossed a bespelling parchment into the air and cast his own spell and this time, the creature burst apart as flames overtook the parchment. He clutched his side for a moment as he turned to face Hisoka as his face sagged in relief. "Hisoka…are you alright?" he queried before his eyes widened slightly as he found himself faced by a glaring Hisoka.

"Why did you…why did you do that? I had it handled!" Hisoka hissed.

Tsuzuki blinked. "Eh…what?"

"Don't play dumb. You pushed me out of the way. Again. You keep getting hurt because of me, because you try to protect me…that's not your job, you're a Shinigami, not my personal protector." Hisoka's glare kept strong.

Tsuzuki eyed his young partner a moment before he smiled and ruffled Hisoka's hair. "Aww, Hisoka, we're partners. It is my job, and I'd do it even if-"

Hisoka batted his hand away. "Stop treating me like a kid, Tsuzuki! Even if we're partners…I'm not your responsibility! You just…don't get it." he pulled away and shook his head. "Never mind…I'm going home."

"Ah, Hisoka, wait-"

But he was already gone, and Tsuzuki's expression fell. Was it so wrong of him to protect Hisoka? Why couldn't he understand that he wasn't patronizing the other, he simply didn't wish to lose Hisoka…he never wanted to lose someone he loved, not ever again…and certainly not because of his own failures…

…..

**One Week Later **

Tsuzuki sat at his desk as he tapped a pencil idly against the table. He had plenty of work to do, but his mind was elsewhere. The first two days after the incident, Hisoka had managed to completely avoid him, and now three days after that…he had barely seen the other. Was Hisoka that mad that Tsuzuki had helped him, or was it something else? He wasn't going to apologize for saving the other, damnit, but…he couldn't go on this way. And if they were given a case anytime soon, the hostility in their relationship wouldn't help matters at all…

"Something on your mind, Tsuzuki?"

Tsuzuki jumped and shot his gaze up at the brown-haired secretary at his side. He hadn't even noticed Tatsumi come in. "Ahhh, Tatsumi…nothing at all." he smiled. "Just…doing my work, of course!" he saluted and then made a show of focusing on the papers before him.

Tatsumi's lips thinned a bit before he said. "Kurosaki had been conspicuously absent from your side the past few days…did you get into a fight?"

"That's not-"

"A fight between partners affects the efficiency of the work place. Therefore, it is very much my business." Tatsumi said sternly.

Tsuzuki glowered lightly before he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "He almost got hit…I pushed him out of the way…it upset him more than usual…he thinks I'm treating him like a kid, he just…he's so stubborn." Tsuzuki pouted.

"Sounds like a certain other Shinigami I know." Tatsumi noted and Tsuzuki huffed. "I understand your reasons, Tsuzuki, but have you considered that in a way…you _are_ patronizing him?" Tsuzuki seemed about to protest and he held up a hand. "You don't do it intentionally, but it is a habit of yours. Your protection he sees as your lack of respect for his strength, it angers him that he can't reciprocate." Hisoka had been training to increase his skills to be able to be Tsuzuki's match as a partner and Tatsumi knew that it was a source of disappointment to Hisoka to feel as though he were failing in that way, that he couldn't protect Tsuzuki as he wished to. That he couldn't be as strong.

"Well what am I supposed to do, let him get cut open? I can't do that, Tatsumi." Tsuzuki sighed as he rubbed his face exasperatedly.

"I didn't say that…per se. But if you keep protecting him, he'll never learn to be stronger on his own. And he's going to get more and more angry when you interfere…and in turn, the efficiency of your work will suffer…and then you'll answer to _me_." Tatsumi said darkly.

Tsuzuki _irked_ and then rose. "I'll go talk to him…thanks, Tatsumi."

Tatsumi's faint smile spoke volumes as he murmured. "My pleasure."

Not ten minutes later, Tsuzuki found his way to Hisoka who had taken up residence in the smaller office next door. He knocked twice before he entered with a bright smile. "Hey, Hisoka, wanna go grab some lunch with me? There's this yummy new place in Osaka…"

"No thank you." was Hisoka's curt reply.

Tsuzuki blinked and then tried again. "Well…we can go where you want then~ What are you in the mood for? Fish? Something spicy? Ooh, how about something sweet for once?" Tsuzuki rallied off happily until Hisoka slammed a hand down on the table.

"No. I don't want anything, I don't want to go to lunch with you, now please leave." Hisoka's temper was barely controlled in his voice and Tsuzuki was truly perplexed. What could Hisoka possibly be so upset with him about, what had been the catalyst for this aggressive behavior?

Hisoka could see the hurt in his partner's eyes, Hell, he could feel it a bit even…but he couldn't let that bother him. He had to make Tsuzuki understand, to see that Hisoka wasn't just some kid he'd been saddled with for a partner…he was Hisoka Kurosaki, future top-ranking Shinigami, someday…he would be Tsuzuki's equal…in the meanwhile, there had certainly been a catalyst in the form of two temporary workers who had come into the Summons Department for a few days, and been rather mouthy about Tsuzuki…

"_So have you heard? It's been almost a year and Tsuzuki's had the same partner, it must be some kind of record." the female giggled while her male counterpart scoffed._

"_Nah, it's just cause it's a kid. They knew no one'd want Tsuzuki so they saddled him with some brat who didn't know any better…you almost gotta feel bad for Tsuzuki though, having a kid for a partner must be a real handicap. Especially since they say Tsuzuki's the really clingy type. His other partners kept leaving, but at least they weren't kids, you know what I mean? They were __**real**__ partners." _

_Hisoka Kurosaki had heard every word and it sickened him. How many Shinigami thought that way, how many saw Hisoka as a 'kid' that Tsuzuki had been stuck with? And just how much ridicule was Tsuzuki receiving behind his back from idiots like these? They didn't know Tsuzuki at all. But worse still, to be thought of that way…with how Tsuzuki acted, could it be that in some way…he felt the same? Had he stayed from Touda's flames just because he felt that he had to stick around to protect the 'kid'?_

Hisoka's thoughts had been such since the incident and things like Tsuzuki defending him that he would have normally accepted had seemed like yet another sign of patronization on Tsuzuki's part. And how he treated him…it was true, wasn't it?

Tsuzuki eyed his partner for a long moment before he sighed. "Hisoka…this doesn't do any good…we're partners…will you at least tell me _why_ you're so mad at me?"

"If you have to ask, then it's not worth my breath." Hisoka replied simply.

Tsuzuki scowled faintly at that as he began to grow a bit annoyed. "I do have to ask, because as near as I can tell, I didn't do anything wrong, Hisoka."

"If that's what you think then why are you here? You have nothing to apologize for, right?" Hisoka kept his gaze away from Tsuzuki as he forced a sarcastic tone.

Tsuzuki was silent a moment before he spoke. "Because you're my partner, and I don't want to keep fighting with you, Hisoka. You should know better by now-"

"That's just it! Tsuzuki, you…will you just go?" Hisoka knew that he was hurting his partner but there wasn't much that he could do about it. He was, in truth, angry at himself and so he was taking it out on Tsuzuki.

After a long moment of silence, Tsuzuki said softly. "If you need anything, you know where to find me, alright, Hisoka?" with that, Tsuzuki quietly left the room, and left Hisoka to his own idle thoughts and doubts.

Hisoka watched the other leave and had the urge to call him back, to take Tsuzuki's comforts, but he couldn't…not until he'd proven to the other that he was a worthy partner, until he found something that would make him as he wished to be, that is, worthy of Tsuzuki…

More than anything, he wanted to be worthy of the man who'd given him back a life, even in his death…

**(Ugh…*half asleep* Hopefully this was alright XD And now, nighty night! XD)**


	2. What Wishful Dreams Might Bring

**Whoot! Second chapttteer. And I'm slightly more awake albeit after a 12 ½ hour shift with the tools being crappy all day, BUT I DIGRESS! XD TsuSoka cuddles shall happen…eventually…in the meantime! *slithers off to write* XD **

Was he really going to do this?

As Hisoka stared up at the building before him, he questioned-not for the first time-the wisdom of seeking advice from this particular source. But he was out of options. Konoe, Tatsumi, the Gushoshin twins, even Watari…well, sort of, he didn't want to think about Watari's solutions…but all in all, they had all said that what he wanted was more or less impossible. To allow his body to continue it's physical aging. Or rather, just to set him up in what would have been his adult body. Was that so much to ask? Did he really have to spend eternity as a sixteen year old?

Hisoka felt renewed determination at that thought as he headed up the steps and knocked on the door of the Count's abode.

There was a moment of silence before the door creaked open and the mottled little butler Watson poked his head out with a droopy smile. He stepped back to allow Hisoka entrance before he closed the door behind him.

"Is the Count home, Watson?" Hisoka asked politely of the little butler.

"Yessss…with a guessst." Watson slurred slightly in his funny speech. "Thisss way, pleassse."

"Oh…a guest…then I shouldn't-"

"Count! You have another guesst!" Watson called out after he had knocked on the door of the dining room entrance before he slid it open.

Hisoka's eyes fell on the Count, dressed elegantly and with his usual mask and then he stared at the Count's, 'guest'.

Waves of raven-black hair cascaded around a pleasantly curvy body as eyes of a startlingly pale shade of blue flicked over in Hisoka's direction. Dark plum lips formed a slight frown as an elegant brow lifted set against a smoothly arched face. The woman was dressed in a dark-blue and violet gown, and the beauty looked rather like a queen. Just who was she?

The Count looked over at his latest 'guest' with surprise and he exchanged a glance with the woman before he said with a smile in his voice. "Ah, Hisoka…this is a surprise, Tsuzuki isn't with you?"

"No." Hisoka said shortly and the Count lifted an invisible brow before he inclined his head. "I see, such a pity…well, Hisoka, this is Lady Levurae, Lady Lev for short. I must ask that you don't speak of her visit with anyone, hmm? I assume that you've come for a favor, so let's say as a favor back, this will be our little secret?"

Hisoka blinked in surprise as he stared at the pair. The Count wanted him to keep a secret…and in exchange for…what he'd come to ask for? What had he stumbled onto? "I…alright then…"

The Count clapped his hands together. "Wonderful! Now then, what is it that I can do for you? Don't be shy, Lady Lev is a close friend." he smiled. All the while, Levurae's eyes never left Hisoka and her expression was decidedly blank, nor had the count opted to introduce Hisoka to her.

"Well…" Hisoka trailed off and he couldn't help but glance at Levurae. He didn't want to talk in front of her, but he couldn't just ask the Count to remove his guest for Hisoka who was uninvited anyway.

A voice like a tinkling bell entered the air. "Speak at your leisure, boy. I am no threat to you who are the partner of the one he holds dear."

Hisoka's brow furrowed as he didn't quite understand that statement, but he inclined his head. He didn't know who the woman was, but…it seemed that she wasn't going to be leaving anytime soon so he returned his attention to the Count. "I was wondering if…you knew of any way…is there…" he cut off as a faint blush darkened his cheeks. He couldn't do this…what was he thinking?

"It's alright, be open. I won't bite…well, only Tsuzuki~" the Count all but purred and Hisoka fought the urge to roll his eyes as he finished. "I wondered…if there was any way to allow a Shinigami to age further…"

" 'Age further'?" The Count repeated before understanding dawned. "Ahh, I see. You mean that you wish to grow up."

Hisoka blushed faintly. "T-That's not…I am an adult! I just mean…"

"In body." The Count said simply and Hisoka managed a curt nod.

"You wouldn't be the youngest Shinigami to join, so you're not the first to wonder…but thus far, there's been nothing in the Ministry capable of that feat. On a human, it would be simple enough but for a guardian of death…you are entirely set into your current being, to disrupt that…it would be much less so."

"So there's nothing?" Hisoka asked a bit bitterly.

"I didn't say that…just nothing in the Ministry as of yet." The Count murmured.

Hisoka's eyes widened. "You know of something else? Tell me. Please."

The Count was silent a moment before he met Hisoka's gaze. "There-"

"Count! There'sss…a new ssssoul…it'sss one of them…"

The Count cursed under his breath as he pushed his chair back with a bow. "Please excuse me for a moment…there is a matter I must address." he said as he left the room. Hisoka wondered just what was meant by 'one of them'. Was something going on?

"So you wish that, is that it?" Levurae's soft voice was heard again and Hisoka jumped slightly, startled as he turned to face her. "What is it exactly that you wish?"

Hisoka wouldn't have really had an answer, but he found words tumbling from his lips before he could stop himself, he couldn't seem to control it. "I wish that I was an adult, that Tsuzuki understood my position more…that I could protect him…I wish to be his equal, a true partner…"

"Your true wish?" she queried softly.

Hisoka nodded and all the while, he was mentally scolding himself. The words were true enough but he couldn't believe that he'd told them to a strange woman, it was as if he couldn't stop himself.

Levurae considered that a moment and nodded. "You who are dear to his dearest…your wish will find you, I hope that it finds you well." she murmured before she rose. "I too must attend to other matters…pleasant dreams, Hisoka Kurosaki, partner of Asato Tsuzuki…" and with that, she left the room but not before Hisoka did a double take, because he was certain that he'd seen her ears and that they were…pointed.

Hisoka shook his head as he rose and brushed the image from his mind…it would be rude to leave so suddenly, but he felt that it was…necessary…he needed to get home and sleep, and the urge to do so was suddenly rather strong…that woman…she had affected him somehow, hadn't she…?

"…_your wish will find you…I hope it finds you well…"_

The way she'd said that last bit…it was polite and yet, to Hisoka, it brought only one thing to mind, it sounded like a veiled warning…

_Be careful what you wish for. _

**Mmm. Bedtime. XD So I was going to have a random fairy on Earth try to grant his wish, and yada yada, but I like this better I think. So yesh. XD Enjoy~ **


	3. The Wrong Side of the Bed

**Mmm. So I don't really dig how the first two chaps came out, but hopefully now that I'm reaching the point I was waiting for (I.E. the ole switcheroo XD it'll work out better.) Thanks for your reviews, peeps! They're hugs for my soul and my motivation! XD Yayyy, story time. XD**

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"Ugh…" Hisoka stumbled through the hallways of the Summons Department. His vision was faintly blurred and distorted and he'd been overcome with a sense of nausea. What was wrong with him? He was a Shinigami, what would affect him this way? He bumped into someone and blinked in surprise as he found a curious Watari before him.

"Oh, Kurosaki? Are you alright, you're looking…pale." Watari's voice was concerned and Hisoka waved a dismissive hand as he stepped aside.

"No, I'm…just a little tired. I'm going to go home and rest, if that's alright.."

"Well you don't need my permission. But would you like someone to go home with you? You don't look well…I'm sure that Tsuzuki-"

"No!" Watari blinked and Hisoka rubbed his head and muttered. "I'm sorry, it's just…I'd rather just go. Thank you, Watari." And with that, he moved past the other and headed off to leave a confused and concerned Watari in his wake.

"More unusual behavior." a voice behind Watari made him jump.

"Waugh! Oh…it's just you Tatsumi…" he turned his gaze back in the direction that Hisoka had gone. "He's really upset with Tsuzuki, but it's strange, isn't it? All of the sudden like that…"

"Everyone has a boiling point, even Kurosaki, I suppose." Tatsumi pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. "And Tsuzuki of course…"

"Is miserable about it." Watari sighed. He knew it well, since Tsuzuki kept badgering _him_ for alcohol.

"If they can't work it out soon, Chief Konoe mentioned the possibility of a temporary reassignment of Hisoka…"

"What? But…if he does that, Tsuzuki will-"

"-I know, and none of us want that. But you have to think of Hisoka as well, and what would happen if he and Tsuzuki's tension affected their work…personal matters cannot interfere with this line of work, that would be.."

"A disaster." Watari finished glumly.

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Hisoka was almost out, he'd collected what he needed from the office and closed things up. Now he could get home and-

"Hisoka, there you are! I've been looking all over for you. I heard that you weren't feeling well…are you alright, is there anything that I can do? I know! I'll make you some soup and-"

The moment he'd heard Tsuzuki's voice, Hisoka had stilled and he didn't turn around as he cut the other off. "Tsuzuki!" his voice was sharp before he forced himself to calm against the sudden, throbbing pain of his head. "Look, I'm just tired. I just want to go home and rest, alright? I'll see you in the morning. We can…get breakfast, if you want." he muttered and he hoped that that little peace offering would get Tsuzuki off of his back for the time being.

"But, Hisoka.."

"I'll see you tomorrow." Hisoka said as he headed out, relieved when Tsuzuki didn't follow. He needed to rest…then he'd be fine, right?

"Just a little rest…" he muttered.

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_Bring, Bring. Bring, bring. _

"Nnn…" Hisoka groaned as he rolled over and rubbed at his face before he slammed his hand on his alarm clock. It was time to get up and start his day, one that would include breakfast with Tsuzuki because it would be a cold day in Hell before Tsuzuki ever let Hisoka say something like that and not follow up on it. Why had he gone and offered anyway? Oh well…

Hisoka squinted as he eyed his clock a moment, a clock that should have read _7:00 a.m._ but instead read _10:31am _in oppressive, red lettering. He stared at it for a moment, not understanding, before his eyes widened and he sat up quickly. Three and a half hours later, and he'd only just now heard his alarm? Hisoka didn't sleep deeply, not since before the night under the crimson moon, and certainly not since after. "I guess I was more tired than I thought.." he muttered and then his brow furrowed at the sound of his own voice. It was several octaves lower than normal. He might have thought that he was getting a cold except that…Shinigami didn't get colds.

Hisoka put a hand to his head anyway to feel for a fever, old habits died hard, and when he felt nothing he lowered his hand only to still. His hand…had it always been so…large? Hisoka's hands had previously been the delicate hands of an admittedly effeminate teenage boy, but now they looked…older? As he trailed his gaze from his hand to his arm and torso, then down at his legs, he realized that his hands were not the only thing that seemed off. "What…the..?"

Hisoka rose from his bed and stumbled to the bathroom where he flicked on the light and turned to the mirror…only to gape at what he saw.

Rather than the slight form of sixteen year old Hisoka Kurosaki…there was a stranger in the mirror. The same light hair and emerald eyes except…his hair was long and hung loosely a bit past his shoulders. His face had grown and matured, a sleek face that one might expect to see on a model. His lithe torso had filled out and become defined with muscles. Hisoka had grown taller as well, by nearly half a foot it seemed, if not a bit more.

Hisoka stared at his reflection before he lifted a hand and the reflection lifted it as well. He blinked, and the image in the mirror copied the gesture. "This has to be a dream." he said, as his reflection said the same in unison and he pinched himself. But the gesture hurt. And if it hurt… "Impossible." he breathed. Somehow, somehow he'd gone to bed a boy and woken up…a man?

Hisoka stumbled backwards. There was no longer any distortion, in fact, he felt remarkably well. But the surprise and gravity of the development weighed on him. He had to get to work, he had to talk to…Tatsumi? Watari? One of them would know what to do, or what had happened…and Tsuzuki, if Tsuzuki saw him like this…come to think of it, why hadn't Tsuzuki seen already? He'd agreed to breakfast with the other and yet Tsuzuki hadn't come to bang on his door and demand impatiently that he leave…it wasn't possible that something had happened to him as well, was it?

Hisoka had to go…

He headed back to his room and went to pull on clothes, only to find that they didn't fit. Hisoka managed to squeeze into one of his larger shirts, but it was almost-skin tight and he couldn't button it up all the way. As for pants, he had one pair of sweat pants that had actually been left by Tsuzuki…how embarrassing, but it seemed to be his best bet at the moment…as for shoes…he had a pair of sandals from a previous trip that would at least work for the time being.

"It's really not a dream.." he muttered to himself as he changed and examined his body while he did so. He estimated his body to be in the mid-twenties range, so he supposed that that made him just a little younger than Tsuzuki now, physically at least. What would Tsuzuki say, when he saw Hisoka this way?

Hisoka took one last look at himself in his less-than-pleasant attire and simply stared for a moment. The man in the mirror was him, it was really him. He wasn't sure how, but there it was…Hisoka pulled away and headed out of his apartment to head to the Summons Bureau, where hopefully he could get some answers…and get everything else his transformation entailed over with…

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"Tatsumi, sir? There's an urgent message here from the Count." a messenger approached his desk and left a letter in elegant script before he bowed and exited the room. Tatsumi eyed it a moment before he picked it up with the thought that it would be something about Tsuzuki and a new debt…but instead…

"What?" Tatsumi breathed as he reread the letter several times over to be certain that this was correct. Because it had to be wrong. What the letter suggested was impossible, it was unthinkable, and worse...he had a feeling he knew just who the letter was in regards to...

_This note will be rather informal, given that this is an emergency. As you know, the candles in my hall represent human lives and those that end with the extinguished flame. Candles are always burning out, but now a candle has been relit in the Hall of Candles, I would appreciate your expediency in coming to my manor immediately. This concerns your staff. _

_With urgent regards-_

Tatsumi let the letter fall from his hand and was gone before it even hit the table.

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**Dun dun dun! XD Hisoka took it rather well. Yayyy! Stuff happened! XD~  
**


	4. Surprise, Surprise

**Dun dun dun….DUN! XD And off we go~**

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Hisoka hesitated at the steps of the Judgment Bureau. He could already imagine that this was going to be a terrible experience. Tsuzuki would fawn all over him, Watari would want to experiment on him, would they even let him work in this condition? But there was no helping it, he had no one else to turn to and he needed to get at least some information on what this was and how it could possibly have happened…

With a sigh, he headed inside…

…And didn't get so much as a glance.

Hisoka frowned slightly. It wasn't like he'd wanted fanfare or anything, but you'd think someone might bother to notice him. 'oh hey, Hisoka, you're an adult now! Cool!' it would be annoying sure, but it was annoying not to have anyone notice either…

Someone bumped into him and Hisoka blinked as he found himself almost eye-level with a familiar face. "Terazuma."

"Huh?" Terazuma eyed Hisoka. "You're new. Looking for Chief Konoe? His office is the other way-"

"-You don't recognize me?" Hisoka queried, a bit curious despite himself.

Terazuma's brow furrowed as he examined Hisoka a moment before he shrugged. "Nope, sorry, should I?"

"Kurosaki Hisoka, Tsuzuki's partner."

"_Whaaaat_?" Terazuma's eyes widened as he looked over Hisoka. Now that he actually looked…those emerald eyes…that blonde hair…he remembered them intimately from when he'd had to pretend that Hisoka was a…was a- "Gahh!" Terazuma shoved past Hisoka and ran rather than stick around and accidentally entice himself to transform, and Hisoka simply stared. What had that been about?

Hisoka rubbed his forehead. He was on the verge of a headache already, it figured…

He headed to Tatsumi's office first and knocked twice before he entered. "Tatsumi, I-" Tatsumi wasn't inside of his office and Hisoka hesitated before he stepped out. Tatsumi was generally in his office around this time with certainty, he would never let work go undone. And furthermore, he was surprised not to have seen Tsuzuki yet, but that was no great loss… "Not that it's any use putting off the inevitable.." he muttered to himself as he made his way to Watari's lab.

"Watar-"

There was an explosion and smoke poured out of the room for a moment and Hisoka staggered back with a cough. "W-Watari, are you alright?" he called into the lab, he'd heard a crash as well.

There was a muffled reply and then a frazzled-looking Watari stumbled out. "I'm just fine," he patted himself off, "No harm done to you, I hope?" Watari smiled at the visitor at his door before his brow furrowed as he eyed the other. He looked so familiar…emerald eyes…blonde hair…a touch of tragedy to his form… Watari's eyes widened. "Hisoka?"

So Terazuma really was just dense. "Yes. I woke up this way this morning, I don't know what happened…I tried to find Tatsumi but-"

"-He was called away rather urgently, wouldn't even tell me what was wrong. I assume it's something Tsuzuki's done, since it was the Count who called." Watari rolled his eyes before a sudden gleam entered them as he began to poke and prod at Hisoka.

"H-Hey! Knock it off-" his words were cut off as Watari grabbed his chin and examined the inside of his mouth. "Fascinating…"

Hisoka pulled away and looked mildly flustered. "I thought that it was impossible for the aging process to continue…so how am I like this?"

"…Well…it really shouldn't be possible…" Watari tapped his chin thoughtfully a moment. "I'll have to run some tests…I'll need blood, hair, and tissue samples…" Samples that a few pricks, pulls, and faint slices later he had before Hisoka could even really react. "So tell me, how does it feel?"

Hisoka rubbed his arm with a faintly annoyed look, but he allowed it. As Watari asked a question, he paused to clench and unclench a fist. "It feels…good." he muttered. Just what would Tsuzuki think of him now? Speaking of… "Have you seen Tsuzuki? He wanted to meet for breakfast this morning but…"

"Tsuzuki? Miss out on breakfast?" Watari looked a bit concerned now. "Maybe he really is the cause of Tatsumi having to visit the Count…I'll try calling his apartment…" Five minutes later, Watari returned with a troubled expression. "There was no answer there, and I called a few other departments…no one has seen him this morning."

Hisoka's eyes widened slightly. He too was now a bit concerned. Tsuzuki had missed out on breakfast, on work, and even if he'd played hooky…well, he hadn't answered at his apartment or informed Hisoka. Had something happened? "I should check his apartment, just in case…" he muttered as he rubbed his head, which certainly had a headache now.

"I'm not sure that that's the best idea, Hisoka." Watari noted. "We have no idea what's happened to you, it's best that you stay close to the Bureau just in case." He had multiple tests he would need to run, and Chief Konoe and the rest would have to be informed, and then there was that business between Tatsumi and the Count…

Watari's phone rang and he answered in surprise, could it be- "Tsuzuki? …Oh, Tatsumi…I thought you might be-what? What do you mean…that…of course, I'll be right there…Hisoka is with me as well but he's-ah-I'll let you see for yourself…I'll be right over." he hung up the phone with a grave expression.

"What is it? Is it something with Tsuzuki?" Hisoka asked.

"Tatsumi didn't say but he sounds…upset. Come on, kid." Watari headed out of the room with Hisoka in tow and a few minutes later they reached Tatsumi's office and headed inside.

"Watari, Kurosaki, there's been an incident. Sit dow-" Tatsumi froze and a rare look of surprise came over his features as he saw Hisoka. Hisoka noted that and blushed just faintly. "Kuro…saki?"

"We're working on it, Tatsumi. We're not sure how it happened, so for now, about the incident?" Watari prodded, already over Hisoka's condition at the moment in the face of something that had even Tatsumi riled, something that he suspected was to do with Tsuzuki.

Tatsumi still seemed to be taken aback a moment before he pushed his glasses up and nodded. He had seen stranger things, to be sure and this…was an emergency.

"As you know, the Count watches over the Hall of Candles, each one represents a human life and when it is extinguished, it is so permanently and represents a human death. However, for a candle to be relit…is unheard of, and by all accounts-impossible."

"Are you saying that one was relit?" Watari followed, his eyes wide.

Tatsumi's expression was grave. "This morning, a candle was made as new and burned with the flame of a human life…the candle of one Asato Tsuzuki."

Hisoka's and Watari's eyes widened.

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**DUN DUN DUN! XD And so on. XD I think I need to go over the manga again or something, I feel really stiff writing this. Maybe I just need to get to less drastic moments. XD ;-; I miss the manga. Hiatus is cruel. _**


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